DANBURY -- Relocation of a crosswalk and other safety improvements on a section of White Street where a Western Connecticut State University student was killed in a hit-and-run accident in 2011 is set to take place later this spring, a city official said Thursday.

City Traffic Engineer Abdul Mohamed said installation of flashing lights, warning signs and the establishment of a second crosswalk on the busy, three-lane road between the university's parking garage and Fifth Avenue is scheduled to begin in about eight weeks. The project will be funded with the remainder of state grant used to widen White Street several years ago and will not cost the city any extra money, Mohamed said.

"Periodically, we see workers out there taking measurements," university spokesman Paul Steinmetz said. "It looks like they are getting closer and closer to putting in the new crosswalks and lights."

City officials and the university have been looking for ways to make it safer for pedestrians to cross the street near the downtown campus, which had been the scene of previous accidents and close calls between vehicles and pedestrians even before the accident that took the life of Dong Lin, a 19-year-old commuter student from Brookfield, who died after being hit by a car on the last day of classes before the 2011 Thanksgiving break.

The driver was another Western student, Eugene Robinson of New Britain, who is scheduled to be sentenced March 15 in state Superior Court for leaving the scene of the accident.

Shortly after Lin was killed, the school and the city set up a task force to come up with ways to increase pedestrian safety.

Among the group's recommendations were improved lighting, barriers to discourage people from crossing the street except in marked walkways, and installation of warning lights that would be activated when someone wanted to cross the street.

Wayne Shepperd, chief of staff for Mayor Mark Boughton, said Thursday that higher wattage bulbs have already been installed along the street in front of the block-long campus to improve nighttime visibility.

University officials also embarked on a campaign to encourage students and faculty members to use an elevated walkway linking the parking garage on the south side of the street to the campus, Steinmetz said.

As part of the safety improvements, a ground-level crosswalk located under the walkway will be moved about 25 feet west toward Main Street, and a new crosswalk will be added near Fifth Avenue in front of White Hall.

After that, Steinmetz said, Western plans to install fencing along both sides of the street that would force pedestrians to use the crosswalks.

Freshman Adriana Kroha said crossing the street, even in the marked walkways, remains a problem, especially at night.

"Some drivers don't stop, even if you're halfway across," she said.

"I've almost been hit a few times, and I always use the crosswalk," said Gabe Russo, a sophomore from Thomaston. "The only time they stop is when a cop is there."